1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an automotive lamp in which a gasket for sealing a back side of the lamp is disposed between a lamp body and an automobile body panel so that water, dusts and the like are prevented from entering the back side of the lamp where wires connecting to a lamp bulb or the other electrical equipment are arranged.
2. Related Art
FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view showing a conventional automotive lamp of the type as disclosed, for example, in Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei. 3-15748. The conventional automotive lamp shown in FIG. 5 includes a lamp body 1 which is formed on a back wall thereof with a seal leg 2 projecting therefrom for surrounding a bulb insertion hole 2 and a gasket 8 disposed between the seal leg 2 and an automobile body panel 6. Both a front and a rear side of the gasket 8 have a respective high adhesive surface so that the gasket 8 sticks both to the seal leg 2 and the automobile body panel 6. In the figure, reference numeral 3 designates a front lens and reference numeral 4 designates a lamp bulb.
FIG. 6 is a sectional view of an essential part of another conventional automotive lamp. As shown in FIG. 6, a gasket 8A is formed like an endless web a cross section of which is U-shaped. An adhesive agent is applied, if desirable, to a tip end of the seal leg 2 so that the gasket 8A sticks to the seal leg 2.
According to the conventional gasket 8 as described above and shown in FIG. 5, however, since the gasket 8 is formed by cutting out a seat-like material to have a frame-shape to fit to the configuration of the tip end of the seal leg 2, the yield rate of the material is very unsatisfactory which raises manufacturing cost.
Further, the high adhesive surfaces of the gasket 8 shown in FIG. 5 are actually made from a double-sided adhesive tape. More specifically, the double-sided adhesive tape with a peel-off sheet on each side is attached to each the front and rear surfaces of the gasket 8. Accordingly, during assembly of the conventional automotive lamp, when the lamp is coupled to the automobile body, the gasket 8 is disposed between the seal leg 2 and the automobile body panel 6. First, the peel-off sheet on one side of the gasket 8 is peeled off to expose the adhesive surface, and then the adhesive surface is pressed against the seal leg 2 so that the gasket 8 sticks integrally to the seal leg 2. Next, the peel-off sheet of the other side of the gasket 8 is peeled off, and then the lamp is coupled to the automobile body, so that the adhesive surface of the gasket 8 sticks to the automobile body panel 6. Thus, the conventional automotive lamp requires the complicated steps during assembly, which steps takes a relatively long time. That is a problem because it raises the manufacturing cost.
On the other hand, according to the secondary conventional gasket 8A shown in FIG. 6, the gasket 8A is formed by the injection molding operation, and the cost for the mold die apparatus or the like is very high. In addition, the gasket 8A must be attached to the seal leg 2 prior to coupling the lamp to the automobile body. This is intricate. Further, in a case where no adhesive agent is applied to the tip end of the seal leg 2, the gasket 8A may sometimes drop off the seal leg 2.